In Boston (US), there are about 500 life sciences startups which managed to secure investments, including neurodiagnostic equipment company Vittamed Corporation established by Lithuanians, announces the main Lithuanian news portal Delfi.

Boston is considered to be one of the largest and most important life sciences centres in the world. For comparison: the number of life sciences startups who received investments there is two times bigger than the total number of startups in all fields in Lithuania, including those that have not received financing.

The latest achievement of Vittamed is series A investment of USD 10 million, which makes it the record series A investment in the Baltic States.  The startup secured USD 8 million financing from Malaysian venture capital fund Xeraya Capital Labuan Ltd ("Xeraya Capital"), another USD 2 million from existing investor Imprimatur Capital and other investors.

The funding will support product launch in Europe, Australia, and other countries, a 510k submission to the FDA, and commercialization in the US. The company is also considering the possibility to build a pilot production line of the world's only non-invasive intracranial pressure monitor in Lithuania. Interview with Remis Bistras, CEO of Vittamed, who has been residing in Boston and working in the field of life sciences for over 15 years, was published on Delfi.

What Lithuania could learn from the US, where life sciences have been developed much more actively?

Boston is one of the largest life sciences hubs in the world, competing by the number of startups with the Silicon Valley. There are about 400–500 life sciences startups which have already secured financing. Not to mention those who are still looking for it. In Boston, the development of life sciences sector is ensured by business cooperation with universities and research laboratories, by a big number of venture capital funds concentrated here and talents. Usually, startups hire the very best and already experienced people in Boston. This can be explained by a lack of time to train them and no room for mistakes – competitive environment rarely gives you a second chance. In Lithuania, life sciences ecosystem would develop faster if there were more venture capital funds and experienced experts of life sciences who would join young teams or at least would consult them.  Lithuania has lots of ideas, but so does the whole world, therefore it is important to make investments into research and for experienced ones to share their experience how to turn ideas into business.

What makes Lithuanian life sciences stand out in the world?

Lithuania has potential in the field of life sciences. A big part of it has already been realised, biotechnologies and pharmaceutical companies established earlier have transformed, were acquired by conglomerates. A new wave of life sciences and medical equipment companies and products is coming, Vittamed is one of them.

Lithuania has good soil, but good seeds are needed. When talking about good soil, I have in mind universities and scientists who have gained global recognition. It is important that life sciences in Lithuania are supported by the government – they are announced to be priority sector. Seeds are researches that must be patented. However, the best seed will not grow even in the best soil without investments.

What makes your product exclusive and how did you manage to secure series A investment of the record amount in the Baltic States?

Our product, a non-invasive intracranial pressure monitor is the only one of its kind in the world yet, because intracranial pressure is still measured by placing a special sensor into brain tissue. Our technology is cheaper, safer, can be used outdoors – it has already attracted the interest of NASA. More than 20 years ago, Arminas Ragauskas , Professor of Kaunas University of Technology started inventing the monitor. We met in 2012, during the international forum “Life Sciences Baltics” organised by Enterprise Lithuania for the first time – at that event science merged with business, Mr. Ragauskas is CTO of Vittamed at the moment. Vittamed became the winner of the startup session at the forum, and by now we have secured the investment of USD 10 million. This every two years held event is building the sector of Lithuanian life sciences and opens the door for new success stories to emerge, because at the event local talents meet professors, entrepreneurs, scientists from Israel, US, Japan, Scandinavia and other countries, where this field is better developed. Our product has no market in Lithuania, for this reason we registered our company in the USA, but it is completely managed by a unit founded in Lithuania. Despite Malaysia, several US States, Ireland trying to persuade us to build the first plant in their countries, but we are ready to open it in Lithuania, unless we face red-tape obstacles, and provided we manage to ensure financing by joint efforts with the government. We would employ people here, would continue developing the technology itself. State support plays important role for the whole sector of life sciences, because invested money and time pay back.

What would be your advice for Lithuanian life sciences startups?

I worked in one of the largest global pharmaceutical companies Novartis for over three years where I was in charge of M&A of small companies. The first question I used to ask startups back then was whether their product will change the today's medicine? If not – nothing will come out of it. It is very important for startups to have their own niche, to carry out global level biological and biotechnological researches and to make their developed technology two times better, three times cheaper and capable of competing with already existing companies. Majority of life sciences products have no place on the Lithuanian market, therefore when thinking about sales, orientation should be directed to foreign markets from the very beginning.

Another important thing is to patent own developed technologies and to protect intellectual property. Only when patents are obtained and at least the prototype of is developed, only then investments from venture capital funds can be aspired.